Squadron Leader Jack Hemmings, pilot awarded the AFC and founder of a global airborne charity

Yahoo

20-02-2025

Squadron Leader Jack Hemmings, who has died aged 103, flew reconnaissance patrols over the Bay of Bengal during the Second World War, earning an AFC. He went on to be the co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), which has grown to become the world's largest humanitarian air service.
Hemmings first flew the twin-engine light aircraft, the Miles Gemini, in 1947, when he and his close friend Stuart King, an RAF D-Day veteran, began a 30-stage tour of the UK to rally support for the MAF. A year later they took off from Croydon and headed for Nairobi to assess the humanitarian needs of isolated communities spread across Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Belgian Congo.
During their six-month trip they encountered difficult terrain, adverse weather and many logistical problems. They had no navigational aids, and many areas had not been mapped. He later remarked: 'We knew that if we got lost over the vast desert we would be lost indeed. A sheet of sandpaper would make as accurate a map as the charts we carried on that first survey.'
Everywhere they landed was a new experience. Most locals had never seen an aircraft in the air, let alone in their village. They were met with total bewilderment, and people gathered around them with great interest.
Hemmings and King explored what help they could give and whether they could assist with ongoing projects and help with the aims and objectives of local missions. They investigated the possibility of building air strips and hospitals in areas that were almost completely cut off.
During their epic journey, the duo travelled more than 7,000 miles, visiting more than 100 remote outposts. Their travels nearly came to an end when the Gemini struggled to gain height in the foothills of mountains in Burundi. Battling against a strong headwind and flying at altitude, they struggled to gain height and hit a banana tree. The incident earned Hemmings the nickname 'Crasher Jack', affectionately used by his family and friends throughout his life.
At the end of their survey they produced a 900-page analysis. Hemmings admitted that they could not have imagined more than half a dozen aircraft in Africa, or how the charity would develop: today, MAF has 123 aircraft around the world. Hemmings said: 'Every flight does some good – I think Mission Aviation Fellowship is like the International Good Samaritan of the air. If anyone needs transporting out of difficulty, or needs urgent medical help, Mission Aviation Fellowship is there.'
Hemmings married, and made a second trip the following year, accompanied by his wife. He was able to launch MAF's first African air base at Malakal, formerly in Sudan, using a De Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft.
Hemmings remained a committed supporter of MAF throughout his life. At the age of 102 he took to the skies in a Spitfire for the first time, raising £5,000 for his charity. He was believed to be the oldest pilot to have taken control of a Spitfire, and his 20-minute flight from Biggin Hill included some aerobatics. The venture was covered by the BBC, ITV and by most national and many local newspapers.
John Stuart Hemmings, always known as Jack, was born on August 10 1921 at Bentham in Yorkshire and educated at Christ's Hospital in West Sussex. He joined the RAF in 1941, saying: 'If I am going to fight a war, I may as well do it sitting down.'
After pilot training he was posted to the Far East, where he joined 353 Squadron to fly the Hudson general reconnaissance aircraft. Based near Calcutta, the squadron flew patrols over the Bay of Bengal. On one occasion, Hemmings decided to investigate the enemy activities in the port near Taungup in Burma. He was met by a burst of anti-aircraft fire; his aircraft was hit in the wings and the radio behind him was destroyed, striking him on the head.
Later, the squadron was equipped with the Dakota and flew transport support sorties across India and into the war zone in Burma. Hemmings was made a flight commander, and at the end of the war he was awarded the AFC before leaving the RAF in 1946.
Hemmings pursued a career in accountancy but he never lost his love of flying. He was fearless, unwavering and passionate about aviation. 'I love flying because I have a feeling of detachment from all the problems of the world,' he said. 'Seeing aircraft used as weapons of war reminds me of MAF's initial purpose: to use aeroplanes to bring peace and hope to needy places.'
It was several years after his epic African flight that he returned to the air. In 1970, as a Flying Officer, he took air cadets on experience flights in Chipmunk aircraft, and in 1982 he won the Dungeness-to-Le Touquet air race.
In 1992 he trained in aerobatics in Russia and the US and continued flying for pleasure well into retirement. On his 100th birthday he flew in a Slingsby Firefly over White Waltham airfield, carrying out a series of aerobatic manoeuvres. On landing he told the BBC: 'Aerobatics are such a treat; it's a wonderful feeling, which I thoroughly enjoy.' Later that year, he again took the controls of a Miles Gemini when he raised £40,000 for MAF.
Hemmings was a man of great vitality who never ceased to identify ways of supporting MAF. By the time of his death he had raised many thousands of pounds for the charity with his flights.
His charitable achievements and dedication to support vulnerable communities extended beyond MAF. In 2000 he travelled to Dhaka and helped to convert a river barge into a pioneering, NGO-operated floating hospital, the Lifebuoy Friendship Hospital. Today, Friendship serves 7.5 million Bangladeshi people every year in some of the most remote and vulnerable communities. The chief executive has said: 'Jack Hemmings embodied the very essence of what it means to serve others.'
The RAF's present Chaplain-in-Chief, the Venerable (Air Vice-Marshal) Giles Legood visited him last year, after which he said: 'Jack Hemmings has made an immeasurable difference to the lives of many across numerous low-income countries. Indeed, many owe their lives to him and the legacy he has created. His quiet humility, and his determination to make a difference, are inspirational.'
Jack Hemmings married Helen Mills in 1949; she died in 1993. He married his second wife, Kate, in 2003. She survives him with a son from his first marriage. His daughter predeceased him.
Jack Hemmings, born August 10 1921, died January 24 2025
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